Different types of arrangements have been proposed for ginning seed cotton. In one type of ginning apparatus described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,441,232, which is assigned to the assignee herein, a plurality of cage rollers are rotatably driven in a continuous path. At least one nip roller is positioned in abutting relation to the cage roller on the side of the continuous path opposite to the side that receives the seed cotton. A suction source draws air through the cage rollers and thus, tends to draw at least a portion of the fiber fraction from the seed cotton through the cage rollers. The seed cotton moves in conjunction with the cage rollers as the cage rollers move in their continuous path and the fiber fraction drawn in by the suction is nipped by the nip roller and removed from the apparatus through the suction duct.
Although the apparatus disclosed in the aforementioned patent is effective in removing fiber fractions from the seed cotton, that apparatus is susceptible of certain improvements. The ginning apparatus disclosed in the aforementioned patent is designed in such a manner that the entire outer surface of the cage rollers is utilized for removing lint from the seed cotton. That is, from the point on the outer surface of the cage rollers where the seed cotton is initially deposited to the point where the ginned seed is removed from the outer surface of the cage rollers, the seed cotton is continually subjected to the ginning action of the nip rollers. Thus, although the outer surface of the cage rollers at the point where the seed cotton is initially deposited on the cage rollers is covered to a substantial degree by seed cotton, after the seed cotton has moved along the outer surface of the cage rollers and been subjected to the ginning action of the nip rollers, the seed cotton is thinned out. As a result, a portion of the surface area on the outer surface of the cage rollers becomes uncovered. However, the ginning apparatus is not designed to utilize that uncovered surface area in any particular manner. Moreover, to a certain extent, the uncovered surface area on the cage rollers tends to reduce the suction effect of the suction source, thereby making it more likely that seed cotton will prematurely fall off the outer surface of the cage rollers.
It would be highly desirable, therefore, if that portion of the surface area on the outer surface of the cage rollers that is uncovered and made available through the ginning action of the nip rollers could be put to use in some effective way. A fuller potential of the ginning apparatus could be realized and the efficiency thereby increased if the aforementioned surface area that is made available could be utilized in some manner. Further, the ability of the suction source to hold seed cotton to the outer surface would not be impaired.
Additionally, although the aforementioned ginning apparatus is effective in removing approximately 90-95 percent of the lint from the seed cotton, it would be desirable if the ginning apparatus could be adapted to remove substantially all of the lint from the seed cotton. The removal of substantially all of the lint from the seed cotton would, of course, reduce waste and thereby help increase the cost efficiency associated with operating the ginning apparatus.
Another area in which the performance of the aforementioned ginning apparatus could be improved is with respect to the removal of the seed cotton and the ginned seed from the surface of the cage rollers after the seed cotton has been subjected to the ginning process. Although the aforementioned patent mentions the use of a fan located within the exit duct of the ginning apparatus for increasing the speed and efficiency of the seed cotton removal, that arrangement may not be entirely suitable in that it may be difficult to supply sufficient force to pull all of the seed cotton from the surface of the cage rollers. Accordingly, it would be desirable if a different type of arrangement could be provided for ensuring that all of the seed cotton on the surface of the cage rollers is removed.